Even in today's technological world the majority of business marketing is done by word of mouth. This is especially true for small home based businesses. In order to help grow their business many owners have started to use customer referral software or programs to help give incentive for existing customers to spread the word. However, while customer referral software certainly is valuable, it isn't a stand-alone feature. Below are a few tips for business owners on how to get the most out of their customer referral program.

1. Market the program. Customer referral programs are a great way to attract customers to a business; however they need to be marketed to be effective. A business owner should make sure that frequent and existing customers know about the incentives they would enjoy for contributing to the program and referring their friends and family. In order for customers to know about the incentives, a business owner should market heavily to them.

2. Create tailored incentives. Business owners should never underestimate the power of a well-thought out customer referral programs with tailored incentives. Not every customer enjoys the same products, so offering a blanket product doesn't necessarily mean that customers will rush to refer family and friends. It is beneficial for a business owner to pay attention to customer needs and favorite products. By offering discounts or freebies on a customer's favorite item, a business owner is offering a tailored incentive guaranteed to interest a particular customer or group of customers.

3. Track referrals and organize information. Some customers naturally refer more people than others. It is important to keep track of new customers and who referred them. Businesses should consider offering additional incentives to customers with the highest referral rate as they are key players in the marketing of the business. Additionally, organize information such as the number of monthly referrals, customer referral rates, and incentive results so that the information is clear and can be implemented to get the most out of the referral software itself.

4. Timely follow through on customer comments to get positive results from customer referral programs. Sometimes the word of mouth about a particular business isn't all good. Business owners should understand they cannot please every customer, but should at least make an effort to respond to any negative comments received. By responding to negative comments in a polite and professional way, business owners have the potential to attract customers that may have been put off by a poor product or perceived lack of concern on behalf of the business. This is particularly true if the responses are viewable on a public forum. It isn't unheard of for an individual to patronize a business simply because they saw that the business took the time to respond to other individuals complaints.